Eames Molded Plywood Chair (LCW) – Mid Century Modern Design Winner!

The LCW (Lounge Chair Wood), or more accurately, the Eames molded plywood chair designed years ago by husband and wife team, Charles & Ray Eames, for Herman Miller is a classic. The design is sharp, sculptural, stunningly beautiful and oh so comfortable! When you read “plywood” your first thought may be what you and I both know as “plywood”, oh, but this is a far nicer “plywood” than you could ever imagine.

🇺🇸 Another plus… this chair is made in the USA! 🇺🇸

The finish shown is the Santos Palisander, and the wood grain is jaw dropping. This is a chair that gives slightly allowing a little flex. It catches your back so nicely – you just don’t ever want to get up!

You see how thrilled I am about this chair? Would I have been if I only saw it online or in a catalog? To be honest, I would like it, but probably not order it, because I don’t know how it feels or how it REALLY looks. We visited Design Within Reach in Charlotte, NC (South End) and WHAT A STORE IT IS! They had just moved into their new space and everything was perfectly in place. We met all the people and each was so wonderful. When my husband called initially he spoke with Ari – I cannot say enough good things about her. She is brilliant, full of information and great ideas that we may not have thought of on our own. She took us around the store, saw what we were interested in (everything), told us the background on some of the pieces (which is SO interesting) and then let us absorb, sit, try, touch… Thank you Ari from Charlotte, for being so wonderful!

“Design Within Reach exists to make authentic modern design accessible.”

The pieces that DWR carries are the real thing, not imitation or “like” the actual design. DWR makes furniture that was once inaccessible accessible, allowing you to see it, touch it, sit in it and simply fall in love with it!

The LCW was designed by Charles & Ray Eames for Herman Miller® Read a bit about it from the Design Within Reach website:

Hailed by Time magazine as the Best Design of the 20th Century, the iconic LCW or “Lounge Chair Wood” (1946) began as an experiment in the Eameses’ apartment, where they were molding plywood in what they called the “Kazam! Machine.” The machine pressed thin sheets of wood veneer against a heated membrane that was inflated by a bicycle pump. Humble beginnings for what would become one of the world’s most widely recognized and highly coveted chairs. Low-slung, with an expertly crafted molded seat and back (no bike pumps are used today), this chair cradles you in a comfortable position while rubber shock mounts buffer against jarring movement. This original is an authentic product of Herman Miller®, Inc. Eames is a licensed trademark of Herman Miller. Made in U.S.A.

Charles and Ray were the masters. Its hard to believe that he started out making plywood splints in the army. I also love design within reach, even if sometimes it doesn’t seem so with in reach. Did you know that Herman Miller actually had a sale this past Christmas? I was able to pick up a George Nelson fixture. Thanks for sharing!!!

Herman Miller has a sale twice a year (usually 15% off and free shipping from them or any of their vendors like DWR. We have a few of the Nelson Saucer pendants and LOVE them. They give off the most incredible glow! Love Herman Miller and the LCW as well as so many other pieces! 😉